Barisan Nasional Lost 5 States, Now on to The Smearing

[BUMPED 15 March 2008. Original posting date 14 March 2008.]

It really riles me up that as soon as the BN got over its shock, mourning and self pity at being rejected by the voters, it goes straight to flinging smears and accusations of ‘racism’ at the DAP-PAS-PKR coalition which trounced them at the GE.

Just who are the ‘racists’ in Malaysian politics? I’d have to say it is Barisan Nasional’s members. After all, UMNO has long shown that it despises those ‘inferior little brothers’ in MCA and MIC.

And just look at the way they think in these recent excerpts from the news, my comments in [square brackets]:

DAP has cheated its voters as a PAS state assemblyman will be sworn in as the Perak mentri besar today, Perak MCA chief Datuk Ong Ka Chuan said.

Ong, who is also the MCA secretary-general, said DAP should apologise to its voters, saying it was sad to hear that Perak PAS secretary Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin will be the mentri besar.

He said Mohammad’s appointment went against the wishes of voters, especially non-Muslims.

“Having a mentri besar from PAS creates fear among non-Muslims. This also creates political instability.”

[The only one causing fear and instability is YOU, Mr. Lost-to-DAP Ong, with your intentionally inflammatory words. Just because you are comfortable with lying facedown on the floor for UMNO to trod all over you, doesn’t mean the rest of the Chinese enjoy it too.

Ong Ka Chuan in his eagerness to criticize the DAP for accepting a PAS MB for Perak has inadvertently (albeit indirectly) insulted the Sultan and the Regent of Perak.Ong, who is also the MCA secretary-general, said DAP should apologise to its voters, saying it was sad to hear that Perak PAS secretary Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin will be the mentri besar. “Having a mentri besar from PAS creates fear among non-Muslims,” he says. “This also creates political instability.”As one reader points out, the decision to appoint Mohd. Nizar Jamaluddin (as MB) was at the discretion of the Sultan. Having exercised their discretion, you are questioning this appointment and therefore, an apology is forthcoming.

The DAP’s decision to abolish the New Economic Policy (NEP) could cause national instability, said Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

He said in a statement that the NEP had played a crucial task in equity distribution among the rakyat and their economic role, successfully eradicating poverty in many areas since it was introduced in 1971 after the May 13 riots.

Hishammuddin was responding to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s decision to not practise the NEP.

Lim had on Tuesday told reporters that the DAP-led state government would not practise the NEP after his swearing-in as the new Penang Chief Minister, citing the policy as a source of cronyism, corruption and inefficiency.

Hishammuddin said the move would not only negatively affect the Malays, but all Malaysians as well.

“Such irresponsible actions from DAP will only worsen the economic disparity of our multi-racial country.

“All the while the NEP has served to maintain balance in such issues.

“We cannot allow a large part of the country’s economy to be ruled by the minority races while the majority race is abandoned without representation,” he said.

Hishammuddin also urged the DAP to be responsible and accord respect to the country and its people.

So maintaining the NEP – which is based on race – is good, but attempting to revoke it is considered RACIST.

To me, this is like someone shouting to my face “You bladdy Chinese pig! You f****** Cina babi!” and when I ask him to stop insulting me, I get arrested for stoking racial tensions. WTF??!!!

And on who benefits from the NEP, to paraphrase Lee Kuan Yew in Parliament before he got Singapore kicked out of Malaysia: “How exactly do racial quotas on the boards of big business help the poor Malay farmer, fisherman and villager?”

And what the **** is he blabbering on about ‘minority races’ abandoning the ‘majority race’? Helloooooooooo, not everyone is as RACIST as yourself, Keris Man!]

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has vehemently refuted Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s claim that he was stoking racial tension over the issue of dismantling the New Economy Policy (NEP) in the island state.

In a sign that could signal the start of a rocky relationship between the federal and the state governments, Lim has instead slammed Abdullah for seeking to provoke racial tensions with his allegations.

“I said we will have an open-tender system (in Penang). What’s the problem with that? Unless Abdullah doesn’t like open tenders but corruption, cronyism and inefficiency.

“I don’t understand what has it (abolishing the NEP) got to do with marginalising the Malay or the Indian community. I think he is not right, (he’s) going on the wrong facts and trying to provoke (racial) sentiment,” Lim told a press conference after witnessing the swearing-in of 10 of his state excos at the Dewan Sri Pinang today.

Yesterday, Abdullah expressed his dismay over the plan by the DAP-led state government not to practise the NEP, an affirmative action policy which favours the bumiputeras.

“Do not marginalise the Malays. I want to ask Lim Guan Eng what are his plans for the Malays in Penang. What are his plans for the Indians in Penang. What are his plans for other minority groups in Penang?” said Abdullah.

[Like I said… A racially-determined policy is considered not-racist by BN, while questioning the policy’s racially-determined basis is condemned as racism. Bizarro World much, Badawi?]

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants Opposition parties to be more responsible when making statements in order not to jeopardise racial harmony.”

“They must be careful and not make statements to gain popularity among certain races only. Whatever they say, must be done carefully,” he said in an interview with Bernama TV at his official residence Seri Perdana here tonight.

In the 30-minute interview, he advised opposition parties in power in some of the states not to allow any community to feel marginalised and to think hard if they wanted to change policies.

He said this when asked what advice he had for Opposition parties which now have raised several issues that slighted the feelings of certain communities, like the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the special rights of Malays.

“Think it over again and again. When making statements on the NEP, they must consider the meaning conveyed. If you do as you like, it will cause a backlash.

“This is something very important they must understand. Becoming the government is not the same as being the Opposition. Both have different roles, and now they will know it is not easy (to be the government),” he said.

[HYPOCRITE!!! You are stoking racial tension and pandering to Malay sentiment with every utterance, yet you warn DAP-PAS-PKR to wtch their words?!!!]

PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that, being a Penangite, he will not allow the DAP-led state government to ignore the plight of Penang Malays.

Dismissing allegations that he was a traitor to the Malay race, Anwar said he would ensure that Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng stuck to his pledges and did not marginalise the Malays.

“Some irresponsible people are trying to fan the fire alleging that I have betrayed the Penang Malays whose plight was not looked into under the previous administration.

“We will not overlook the problems of Malay petty traders,” he said after paying a courtesy call on Lim at the Chief Minister’s office in Komtar yesterday.

“Those who made allegations against me actually want the Malays to feel uneasy so that they can fulfil their agenda,” he said.

“These people are merely sore losers, he said, and urged them “not to stir up the hornets’ nest.”

Anwar said the DAP-PKR coalition state government would also ensure that the welfare of Chinese and Indians were well taken care of and that the state government would take a new approach to help them.

[That’s telling them, Anwar! SORE LOSERS!!! You are the real traitors to the malay race, intent on keeping them dependent and subservient to the UMNOputras forever!]

The election results signal the beginning of the possible demise of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and special rights for the Malays, said Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

The Umno supreme council member said it appeared that the Malays, especially in the town areas, had become more confident now and felt they could compete with the other races on a level playing field.

“We (Umno) have to really sit down and think. It looks like the educated Malays do not care about Malay rights anymore,” he said when contacted.

“The Malay doctors, lawyers, engineers feel they have made it on their own merit.

“It looks like the NEP is not something that can be used to persuade the Malays to support the Barisan Nasional.

“The Malays are saying ‘you can’t scare us by talking about us losing our rights, because we are here on our own merit’.”

Nazri said it looked like some Malays felt that the NEP was unfair, and questioned why special rights should be given to the Malays.

He described the new confidence among the Malays as good for the Malay psyche.

[See? 45 years after LKY said it in front of the entire Malaysian Parliament and got quickly removed by TAR, the common folk are starting to realize it too – the NEP is unfair to nonMalays and non-UMNOputra Malays.

Scrap that ineffectual NEP. Replace it with a new policy that doesn’t merely enrich the big businessmen and political-footsie-playing Datuks.]

The MP for Gua Musang stated that it was not only a disaster for Umno and BN but also a disaster for the nation. How can we conclude that the people’s choice of electing members of the Opposition party in certain states equate to a national disaster?

I personally think having fresh faces in Government, be it BN or the Opposition, is always a good thing, especially since the people of Malaysia are clearly frustrated with practices in the past administrations in which corruption, cronyism and sheer incompetence were rife.

Datuk S. Subramaniam has called on all Indians in the nation to unite with the objective of revitalising the MIC, while MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting is now committed full time towards rebuilding the MCA and winning back the support of the Chinese.

In Penang, the Chairman of the Malay Chamber of Commerce has requested that the DAP-led government appoint Malay state assemblymen as state executive councillors as they could deal with the problem of the Malays.

Why can’t the BN move towards a unified political party platform and have Malaysians deal with Malaysian issues, regardless of race, gender or religion?

We must stop viewing everything in this country through an ethnic prism. Instead, we should start working together as Malaysians, period.

The BN’s biggest component parties are Umno, MCA and MIC – all of which are political organisations based on ethnicity. If we are to succeed as a nation moving forward, we must do away with this structure and have a true multi-racial BN, and not a BN coalition of multiple races.

The success of PKR and DAP in the recent election proves that the people of Malaysia want this.

Malaysia must move forward by having a truly multi-ethnic political framework and do away with political parties drawn along ethnic lines.

We must view the future of our nation not through an ethnic prism, but a human one that is blind to race, religion and gender, if we are to succeed as a nation.

VIJAYANDHRAN VALAYATHAM,
Petaling Jaya.

[Here’s some sensibility, but NOT from a BN guy… It’s a letter from a regular citizen.]

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And on a final note:

If the DAP-PAS-PKR coalition (the entity formerly known as the Opposition) is a ‘marriage of convenience’, then I must say that a pragmatic marriage is better than a shotgun wedding.

11 Responses to “Barisan Nasional Lost 5 States, Now on to The Smearing”

First, Ong Ka Chuan should tell his brother to step down as MCA head.
UMNO (BN) now will try all they can to subvert the states lost, then they regain the states thru Federal rule.
As for Badawi, well, as a true fascist he has to put the `winners` down when his own position is extremely shaky with the whole country wondering why he still is PM.
Badawi`s fascination and attraction for violence, cronyism, nepotism and corruption has already been well displayed to the people.

i don’t think MCA should do anything. both the ong brothers should stay and try to regain the confidence and reunite the malaysian chinese community. as for UMNO……well…… i guess they should change for the better. the MCA has been trying their very best to keep the chinese community satisfied. they have been trying to demand for the very best for the chinese. however, it is not the MCA that should get the blame. don’t forget that the big Brother in BN, (UMNO) COULD the one that has been restricting MCA. as for the previous election, deep down in the hearts of all the members of the chinese community, they wanted to continue supporting MCA, but…. they can’t support MCA unless they support UMNO. that was what happened. that’s why the chinese majority, chose to vote for the opposition. all the chinese know that the opposition, DAP, has no experience at all. the promises during their political campaigns and ceramahs were sometimes too much or illogical. and so, they won the seats just because the community wanted a change and and they feel that they deserved a chance to prove themselves worthy.

as for racism, it has been around just like the girl next door. why is it that the younger generations of the malays, chinese and indians are becoming further and further apart from one another??

badawi now, having some sultans pointing arrows at his ass…. well, more to come my friends. don’t forget that the sultan of perlis is a very close friend of mahathir.. we are expecting some drama soon.watch on comrades!!!!

Firstly, there really is no racial harmony in Malaysia. Racial harmony is a rose garden on the far horizon as far as 2009 is concerned. But the first step that needs to be taken is to strip BN naked of all its political power and give it to PR.

Then we can truly say that we are moving forward towards racial harmony.

I hope so.. many peoples hope so. We MUST get rid of the corupt administration that favours and benefitted the selective BeEnd-am(NO!!) heads and..the affluent burgeous.. and the rich (not the poor needy rakyat at large (the marhaens). We have no choice. We DO NOT hate Umnoputra..but we hate.. with great abhorance, the abuses of power,
injustices, “discrepancies”, briberies, highly opportunistic peoples – all those “unreligiously” driven..the worldly desired” or moulded money thirsty “leaders”, inefficient administrators regime with little transparency..the “Bersih, Cekap and Amanah” administration – Cakap Tak Serupa Bikin. And we want to tell them.. for more than 50 yrs of BAD media lies and cover-ups.. We know you media..what you are doing bullshit reporting.. You know..rakyat watch you..God watch you. Please do more cover-ups, that is the most noble, the most ethically journalism that you learned from your university.. Maaf cakap.. I have to speak up!